Time Difference
by eliezha
Summary: Magnus is in a foreign country on business, so he and Alec are skyping. Oneshot. Fluff. Malec.


**Author's Note: **

**This has been sitting in my folder for weeks, so here it is. I hope you guys like it!  
Incidentally, since we _are _on a fanfiction site, Magnus and Alec don't belong to me, _shocker_. They belong to the marvelous Cassandra Clare.  
Also, this was based off of a prompt from imagineyourotp on tumblr - they've got some really good ones and I had to take a crack at this one, I really loved it. So, here you go!**

**x-x-x**

"Come on Magnus, I've been calling for half an hour, pick up already," Alec's muffled, agitated voice crackled out of the speakers of the laptop as his face snapped onto the screen, head rested on his crossed arms, eyes shut, deep lines evident on his face. Magnus smirked as his boyfriend growled. "Damnit Magnus!"

In a sluggish, exasperated movement, those deep blue eyes opened and widened at the sight of his boyfriend, clean and fresh, a towel curled around his hair, another on his shoulders.

"Magnus!" he gasped, and once again Magnus was reminded of the pure innocence and honesty behind those beautiful eyes, how he could plainly see the happiness that lit up his whole face as he sat up straighter, leaning his head on his hands, directing his whole attention to the screen.

"Oh, now that I'm here, It's 'Oh, hey Magnus!' What happened to 'Damnit Magnus?'" the warlock teased. He could just barely see the flush rise to Alec's cheeks in his dark room.

"I've been trying to Skype you for half an hour, Magnus. You said I could call now," Alec huffed, running a hand through his hair and looking dead tired. A flash of guilt ran through the warlock and he sighed.

"I'm sorry, Alexander. It was a very pressing day yesterday. My client's very demanding and I got home much later than I had hoped. I woke up only a while ago and jumped in for a quick shower - " Alec snorted, his eyes rolling skyward.

"Quick?"

"Yes, quick. I'm sorry I missed your calls before, I must have been more tired than I thought to have forgotten about seeing your pretty face," he grinned, leaning forward to take in his boyfriend. There was his familiar, messy hair and beautiful blue eyes, but underneath that, there were dark shadows and a bruise blossoming on his chin. Worry pricked instantly and he opened his mouth to question him, but was interrupted.

"I miss you," Alec said softly, and his worry momentarily fled as he melted under that gaze, speechless as he gazed at the boy before him.

"And I you," he replied eventually, a catch in his voice. "You don't know what I'd give to snap back to the loft and be with you - "

"I know," Alec replied, giving a wane smile. "How's it going, then? Your work?" Magnus sighed and brought his slender fingers to his temple.

"It's messy, and that's all you need to know. No need to bring such unpleasantness to such a sparkling conversation," he waved the question off, and leaned back in his swivel chair, giving his boyfriend a good look at his bare chest, still wet from the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist. He watched Alec flush again and glance down at his hands, and he smirked. "How about you, Alec? What did you do to your pretty face?" he asked, concern lacing his words.

"Oh, that," his hand drifted up to his chin and he shrugged. "It's nothing, Jace and I took out a few demons in an alley, earlier this evening. We're both fine," he assured him, a yawn splitting his face.

"Well, it seems you _can_ do well without me there to heal you," Magnus laughed. "You must be exhausted, though, Alec. Are you sure you don't want to go to bed? We could talk another time, it must be near two 'o clock - "

"No, it's fine. I _want_ to talk to you, Magnus. You've been gone a week already," he said, a sulky tone seeping into his voice.

"Yes, darling, and I'll be gone a week longer," Magnus reminded him, and Alex frowned, picking at his sleeve. His boyfriend's feelings mirrored his own - he really didn't want to be here, in this foreign country. His clients were all very rude, and their requests were very demanding and at the same time very dull, but hey, the money was incentive enough to keep his temper in check. He had also attended a conference between the warlocks, discussing the Accords. He'd much rather be at home in their apartment, ordering a pizza, watching a movie with Alec, and just being able to snuggle with his boyfriend. He missed him terribly, more than he would admit to, and once again wondered how he had gone about his days without Alec before. How he had slept all alone in his own bed, when he felt the chill and emptiness now - stranded in a foreign bed with no one to cuddle - he didn't know. He sighed and smiled fondly at the computer screen, a rush of affection for Alec taking hold of him. "I want to to talk to you, too," he replied, and then, "Tell me how everything's going over there, are you feeding Chairman Meow?"

And they talked. Alec talked about how things had been pretty quiet, and how Jace and Clary had been avidly training in the lull of activity, and how he had gone back to the Institute to sleep while Magnus was away and he really hated it and missed their bed and him, and after that Magnus kind of stopped listening and started staring at the Shadowhunter as he chatted on, watched him as he ran his hands through his hair and rubbed his eyes. He could see the weariness that dragged on him, but Alec refused to go to bed, and Magnus couldn't deny he would rather he stay with him. After awhile, he trailed off, seemingly finished, or too tired to go on, and Magnus picked it back up, right in sync, telling him about the city, the gorgeous views that he would have loved to show him, the scrumptious pastries he would have loved to share with him, and the absolutely fabulous shopping centers he had found, wandering around the city.

"Alec, darling, would you mind if I ran and got some breakfast from the kitchen? I'll be right back," Magnus finally ended his montage, noticing the time.

"Of course not," Alec assured him, resting his head back on his arms and smiling up at the warlock. Magnus blew him a kiss and got up, letting the towel around his waist slide dangerously low. Smirking, he slid into the little kitchen and whipped up a smoothie. He was back - maybe ten minutes later - and there was his boyfriend, his head tucked into the crook of his elbow, cheek resting on his forearm, eyes closed, mouth barely open. And he looked so peaceful and calm and adorable and perfect that Magnus was momentarily stunned - even now, so far in their relationship, Alec's beauty astonished him. After a moment, he took a snapshot of the screen and typed a message out for him when he woke up.

'You _were too_ tired. Hope you had sweet dreams, darling. I'll text you after you get some rest. Love Magnus'


End file.
